First of all, Alex taught Aru about the earthworms.
In medieval times, farmers didn't use earthworms, as they didn't have the scientific knowledge to know that earthworms are, in fact, very good for the soil.
He told Aru to gather his fellow young friends and look for earthworm-rich areas, find a lot of these little fellows, and spread them in various locations.
Aside from that, use the three-crop rotation system.
He demonstrated the system by dividing the farm into three different areas using sticks, twigs, and stones available nearby.
Although this method is quite primitive and might not be able to work as well as the modern-day fertilizers and genetically modified crops that naturally give higher productivity.
It will at least save their lands from going barren.
Aru was still just an uneducated person, so Alex could not have taught him too much; he just taught Aru enough stuff to fix the problems of their town.
These people gave Alex and Ethan food and a place to rest, so Alex didn't mind giving them a bit of help.
"These methods that I taught you will work in a longer time period; be patient and your town's productivity will improve…"
"Aside from farming, you all should start connecting with other towns… hmm, but that would need better roads so perhaps it will take time to create a proper trade route…"
Alex spread his knowledge, and more and more people from the town gathered around him to hear his words one after another.
First it was only Aru and the old guard, but then some passersby stopped to hear his words, and then, one after another, more people gathered.
Alex was short in height, and thus he found a boulder to stand on and spoke with a confident look on his face.
"As a saint of the 'God of Wisdom,' my words carry the 'truth' bestowed by my god!"
"I am trying to spread knowledge on his behalf; if you follow my words faithfully, you will also be blessed by the god of wisdom!"
Since this new world seemed to have powerful religions everywhere, Alex utilized his official title as a method to manipulate the psychology of these people.
It might be difficult to make them change their old habits in a day or two, but Alex had already found a better option.
He decided to take advantage of his title as a saint and said that whatever knowledge he was teaching was a direct oracle of the god of wisdom himself!
The god of wisdom was very knowledgeable, and his saint was also qualified to teach people about various things!
Such an approach was more believable and a better way to help these people.
'In the future, when their next generations get educated they might stop believing in God, but for now, this is the best method to make them change their old methods…'
Humans are very good at adapting when they are forced into a corner and have no other choice left.
Alex did exactly that; he took advantage of the fact that these people were thinking that their fields were cursed by the heavens.
"The God of Wisdom wants you all to work hard; that's why I am telling you the method to destroy the so-called 'curse of heavens' with your own hands!"
"Think about your children! Think about your children's future!"
"Work today so that your children don't have to die from starvation! Work with wisdom so that you don't have to suffer from the curse of heavens!"
Alex was young; his face did not have the ability to intimidate people, as he looked handsome.
But his words were enough to motivate all who listened to him.
A newfound ray of 'hope' appeared in the eyes of everyone after being bestowed the 'oracle' of the 'god' of 'wisdom' by the 'saint' himself!
Alex's 'sermon' about 'knowledge' and 'wisdom' lasted for an entire hour, and by the end of it everyone was very motivated.
In fact, Alex even manipulated and convinced everyone to accept Aru as their new town head.
They all happily gifted various things to Alex as they went home with a newfound hope in their eyes.
'Hmm… it does seem that I have found a good way of deceiving people; I can use it later in other places…'
'But this is not enough; just deceit and trickery won't be enough. I still need some other types of skills…'
While walking with Ethan towards the town head's house, Alex munched on the fruits gifted to him by his newly converted believers in the god of wisdom church.
'I can create loyal subordinates that can work for me without needing to spend a single penny; aside from that, I need to recruit some elite and talented subordinates like Ethan…'
'Finally, I need a firm foothold in this world… for that I need to take over the city of Ilma and I can start spreading my roots to the outside world from there on…'
After thinking this much, a sudden thought came to Alex's mind.
'Err… why does it seem like I am planning for world domination or something… am I a villain?... No no, I am not that evil…'
'I am just spreading my knowledge in the world and am trying to gather the knowledge of this world…'
Alex glanced towards the baffled young man following him with a shocked look on his face.
"I can't stay here for too long, but when I get the chance, I will send someone to establish a proper church here from the city of ilma…"
"Aru, I have already laid the foundation for you. If you still can't help your town get out of its dying situation, then you might as well just jump off a cliff or something…"
For Alex, the events of today were insignificant, yet Aru experienced a drastic shift in his perspective within minutes!
He was a random farmer just a few hours ago, and now he was carrying the hopes and dreams of the entire town on his shoulders.
He was given the responsibility of bringing 'hope' to his people! He felt that everything was a dream, and he found it difficult to adapt to this sudden change.
"L-lord saint… i-I… can someone like me even do all this?"
As if noticing the nervousness and hesitation in his eyes, Alex smiled at Aru and replied in a confident tone,
"You are no longer just 'Aru'; you are 'Aru LeonBrave'! Take pride in your name; take pride in yourself! Lead your people towards a better future!"
"Whenever a problem arises, fear not; the god of wisdom will support you…"
Seeing the confident smile on Alex's face made Aru feel less nervous, and he nodded his head.
"Okay, I will work hard and believe in the god of wisdom just like you believe in me, your holiness!"
That day, Aru went home and carved a stone mural with his hammer and chisel.
It was a mural depicting an all-knowing young saint descending from the heavens and spreading the knowledge and wisdom of the gods directly to the common people.
That day, Alex had no idea that his random act of spreading his knowledge would go on to become the first chapter of his legend.